receiving flowers

Something adorable happened to me yesterday. I was sitting on a clover patch in the park, working on an embroidered label during my lunch. Suddenly, I heard little giggles and tiny feet running towards me.

His name is Jack, he picked these two dandelions for me and he wanted to know my name, and what I was doing. I could barely make out his words; he was speaking so softly in between giggles. He was so shy!

His nanny told me that he is only 2 years old. I hope he will still give flowers to girls when he grows up to be a handsome young man. He will totally be a heartbreaker!

charcuterie + oysters

On Saturday, we went to Juli and John’s for a charcuterie dinner! Jin and I haven’t had oysters in awhile (ok, that was a lie, we just had some a couple weeks earlier at a photography opening at their store!) so we brought 4 dozens over from Oyster Boy (our favourite oyster house in the city).

Jin showed John how to shuck oysters, and away John went! He shucked all 4 dozen for us! Thanks John!

They prepared this amazing spread of cheeses and meat. I have never had charcuterie for a whole meal before which is surprising, as I am big lover of cheese. I guess I never thought I would be full, but boy was I wrong! My favourite cheese of the evening was this cheese with tartufo in it. I will have to remember to get it when I go to The Cheese Boutique one day.

We left with a parting gift, something they got in Japan. I think it looks like an owl, Juli thinks it looks like a scary face, but we treasure this little guy because he represents prosperity.

Thanks for a wonderful evening guys! (and for prosperity!)

xo

it came with the house

I disappeared last week, I was busy working on something.
I cannot tell you yet, but boy am I anxious to let it out!
Once I am allowed to, you will be the first to know.

This weekend, we were able to clear some mess in our backyard, it needs a lot of work.
But the grape vines that came with the house are doing really well.
It looks like we will have A LOT of grapes. Our whole backyard is covered with them.

I have to admit, I do not eat a lot of grapes, and I don't know the first thing about caring for grape vines. Our neighbour has been kind enough to help me care for them this year (sweetest man ever!). What else should I do with them? Do you know a good recipe for grape preserves?

colours, fantastic

I was at Nikole's place a little while ago, and she bought some rhubarb from the market that morning.
Aren't the colours magnificent?
Even the fruits and vegetables she chooses are perfect.

I will be there again for a visit tomorrow. Maybe she will have some jelly left, or some tarts?

Also, it's Friday!
I hope you get your hands on some delicious sweets.
Have a great weekend!

A show in slow motion

My friend’s father is an avid gardener, and I will never forget what he told me in the first year I decided to tackle our garden.

His goal was to make his garden like a slow motion fireworks show. As some flowers fall out of bloom, others are coming up so that something is always in bloom. I just imagine a time lapse movie of the whole summer when I think about this, and how beautiful it would be.

Now that we are in our new place, we don’t have a garden for me to work on this year. We have to figure out the hardscape first, but that is a task I will leave for another year. For now, I am growing small things in pots, and I really enjoy seeing how the gardens are changing everyday in my new neighbourhood.

spring

The weather has just been perfect this week.
I really hope spring is here to stay.

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I have been grinning from ear to ear! Thank you friends, your kind thoughts have really touched my heart. You inspire me, push me to try new things, and always encourage me to do better.

This first dress is far from perfect, as I still have a lot to learn. I enjoyed every step of making it, from tracing, to cutting, to sewing and altering. Not only did I learn how to navigate these foreign books, but I picked up a lot of new tricks in dressmaking from seeing what others were doing in class. Thanks for offering this class Karyn! I have wanted to do this for a long long time.

Of course, I was looking forward to photographing the dress, but a little nervous about being the model. Rosalyn came over to help me set up, style, and photograph. We make a great team Roz!

I made dress ‘S’ in the Stylish Dress Book II. Karyn made 2 beautiful dresses in this pattern out of Liberty of London fabric. They are SO perfect! Look here, and here.

(p.s. some of you asked where I got the gingham fabric from. I got it at World Sew on Queen Street ages ago! But I think they still have it.)